Montreal-based indie pop/rock musician Alicia Clara sat down with Atwood during SXSW to chat about all things music, from her earliest inspirations to her next moves.
Stream: “Nothing Dazzled” – Alicia Clara
Murmurs settle as soundcheck fades into an intimate, entrancing half-hour set.
Alicia Clara thrives in the spaces between genres, never conforming to a single static soundscape. Doused in blue lighting, her guitar shimmers between blue-green hues and sonics shift from soft-pop to dreamy indie-rock. Drums pulse, guitar and bass communicate in a language of their own, and an ethereal voice floats through the room, “Five in the morning I wake / To a fading earthquake / Bed didn’t move an inch / I bet the moon didn’t even flinch” (“Nothing Dazzled”).
With the aid of her three-piece band, the Montreal-based artist holds the room in captivation. Soundwaves linger, still settling as they pull listeners deeper into her orbit. In which in-between soundscape will she venture to next?
Alicia Clara sits down for a conversation with Atwood, revealing a single on the horizon and an album set for release later this year.
In lands where I can’t run
Your shadows are my sun
If I paint my skies pink
You’ll drink up white
Flame out in the open you know
I wanna be you
Strange how your body’s hollow
I never knew
Oh to want to be myself
Oh to put it back on the shelf
Nothing mattered
Nothing dazzled
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:: connect with Nothing Dazzled here ::
:: connect with Alicia Clara here ::
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Stream: “Nothing Dazzled” – Alicia Clara
A CONVERSATION WITH ALICIA CLARA
Atwood Magazine: When did music first come into your life?
Alicia Clara: I think since day one. My parents loved music so they were playing a lot of albums at home. But my earliest memory of me deciding I wanted to be a musician, I think I was six years old. I grew up in Switzerland, so speaking French, and there’s this French pop singer from the 90s – early 2000s called Lorie. I think it was also Britney [Spears], and Lorie. I was like, “I wanna be like them. I wanna be a singer.”
So that was the moment when you realized it’s what you wanted to do?
Alicia: Yeah. I remember there was a magazine that they shipped a blank CD and they were like, “We’re having a contest to have someone record a demo.” It was for children. And so you could record yourself, put it on the CD, and mail it to them. I vividly remember looking at this and being like, “I have to do this.” But I never did.
Do you know what song you wanted to record?
Alicia: No idea. [laughs]
How would you describe your own sound?
Alicia: I think it’s a mix of a lot of different things, but it’s definitely inscribed within the indie-pop/dream-pop genre. I veer a little bit more into rock with my latest stuff but also more into folk and little bits of ambience. That’s what’s coming up, I have an album coming out later this year so that’s kind of what’s gonna be on there.
How has your sound evolved through the years?
Alicia: I didn’t start writing songs until I was like 15. Back in the day I was kind of inspired by Taylor Swift, I guess [laughs]. Then my taste evolved, obviously… Avril Lavigne had a big influence on me when I was like 10.
I don’t really have a set moment where I’m like, “Oh, I’m doing this over something else.” But definitely women in music, as lame as it sounds.
That’s not lame!
Alicia: No, but… sometimes it’s like, “Oh, something’s interesting about this artist or thing because it’s women-led.” But I kind of want to just celebrate the art or the thing itself. Not because it’s made by a woman. I don’t really care for men’s music, to be honest. [laughs]
No, that’s fair! I've realized all my interviews have been with female artists or female-fronted bands. It’s not intentional, it’s just what I listen to.
Alicia: Exactly! And I notice the same thing, for example, with books that I read. I only read women authors. I don’t have any interest in what men are writing [laughs]. So I think really it’s that I discover female or queer artists that I really love. And then I kinda just take from that. So it comes from a lot of different sounds and genres.
Who are some of your inspirations?
Alicia: I go through phases where I don’t really listen to a ton of music ’cause it’s kind of tiring for my brain ’cause I’m always trying to pick up on things that I should incorporate into my own music. But I definitely had a huge phase where I was listening to ML Buch a lot. Suntub was definitely my number one album in 2024. I loved it so much.
How do you expect your sound to evolve?
Alicia: That’s a tough one because I’m inspired by so many different things. On some days I’ll be like, “Oh my God, I’m gonna be a folk girly.” And then the next day I’m like, “No, I’m gonna be an ambient girly.” And then the next day I’m like, “No, I’m gonna rock out so hard.” I have a hard time sticking to one thing. I guess I aspire to kind of blend everything that I love into one singular sound and kind of try and stick to that.
Do you consider yourself more of a lyrics or a sound person?
Alicia: Lyrics. Well, I don’t know actually… I love my lyrics and they’re not always 100% intentional. Sometimes it’s just the sound of the lyric actually. I also love sound, obviously, but I don’t know. I often start writing a song with the lyrics first.
More sonically, is there anything you've worked on that you feel should be more appreciated?
Alicia: I think definitely my quieter songs. There’s less arrangement-wise in the tracks but they’re just more honest and raw… just like the song in itself works. It doesn’t need a ton of effects and arrangements to shine. So they might be simpler but I think they took a bit more time to kind of get to their shape.
You said you have a new album coming out this year. Do you have any older demos that you've reworked and are now featured on your upcoming album?
Alicia: Yeah, actually one of the songs that I played tonight. I initially wrote it like four years ago. I didn’t super vibe with it. And then like a week before we were set to record the album, I was like, “Lemme try and change it up a little bit.” So I changed some chords and some melodies and now it’s one of my favorites.
You started this project around the time of the pandemic, right?
Alicia: I started releasing [music] like five weeks before the pandemic was declared. So that was initially very depressing. I spent the first lockdown at my uncle’s place… I was just stuck in that bedroom by myself for like two months and I did not know if live shows were gonna be a thing again. I had never played one too. I feel like the rug was pulled from under my feet. So it was difficult, but I think in that sort of depression and despair, I pushed harder than I would’ve otherwise.
What do you hope listeners can take out of your music?
Alicia: Honestly, I think just however people wanna relate. If they relate to it one way or another, even if it’s not the way that I intended to make a song, that’s fine by me. Purely because when I write a song I don’t necessarily always know what it’s about. Until I listen and read it later and I’m like, “Oh! That’s what was going on.” [laughs]
Six in the morning all’s fine
Spring is even on time
My hands are tied up to my neck it’s fine
I don’t need them right now
I have nothing to reach for
I have nothing
I have nothing to reach for
I have nothing
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:: connect with Nothing Dazzled here ::
:: connect with Alicia Clara here ::
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Stream: “Nothing Dazzled” – Alicia Clara
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© Taryn Fleischmann
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